


Percy the Traitor, Savior of Olympus

by KingOMalley



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, OOC characters, Past Percy/Luke, Probably poorly written, much angst, very slow updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-03
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-19 16:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2395670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingOMalley/pseuds/KingOMalley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gods and campers thought he was dead. He betrayed the gods to serve Kronos. Kronos was just using him to win the war. But what if he was captured? What if he joined the gods again? But he can't trust. He's too broken. Can a certain ghost king save him from himself? Pernico! Events will be different. Past PercyxLuke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This is Only the Beginning

**This is a story that I've been thinking about for a while, and it's kept bugging me to write it down, so . . . yeah. It's like a rabid plot bunny that I couldn't get rid of, so I'm gonna do it just to get it out of my system. Here we go! Oh, and I'm sorry in advance if the story isn't very good.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own PJO or HOO! (or I would write faster! ;)**

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**Percy's POV**

I'm sixteen now. For the other demigods, it's been a year since 'Percy Jackson the Hero' died, but for me, it's been much longer. I've been dead for longer than anyone could've guessed.

I was training in a huge marble arena when a demigod messenger came with a message for me. I tapped my wrist and my Stygian iron/adamantine sword shrunk into a black chain bracelet. "Commander, we've captured two demigods and one satyr from Camp Half-Blood," he said.

I grinned wickedly and told him to take me to the dungeon where they were being held prisoner. The boy trembled as he walked in front of me, obviously scared of my power. Most of the demigods serving Kronos were, because they knew my reputation, my status, and about my crushing power.

The kid led me down a long obsidian staircase for about ten minutes before we reached the black dungeon doors. I motioned for the young demigod to leave, and he bowed to me before scurrying back up the steps to get away from me.

I opened the door and walked in, scanning down the rows of cells until I found the one I was looking for. I approached the cell and said, "Welcome to my humble home." Sarcasm was practically dripping from my words, and I bowed mockingly.

The three teenagers spun towards me. They were Annabeth, Grover, and Nico. "Percy?!" they cried in shock.

"B-but you're supposed to be dead!" Grover stuttered, looking at me with a mixture of fear and relief.

"Why are you in Kronos castle?" Nico asked calmly, regaining his composure.

I grinned and said, "I'm his commander of course! You must've heard of me by now." The trio shook their heads, Nico looking particularly confused. "Am I confusing you, spawn of Hades?"

His features hardened and he gave me a death glare (pun not intended . . . well, kind of). "What happened to you? A year ago you were set on defeating Kronos, and now you're helping him?" Annabeth asked, her calculating eyes scanning my face.

My smirk slipped and I frowned slightly. "Let's just say Kronos was very . . . persuasive."

"You're supposed to be dead. We watched you die. Kronos never captured you," Grover said, frowning.

"It's nice to know you missed me," I muttered sarcastically. The building shook and I took that as my cue to go see Lord Kronos. "I've gotta go, but it was nice chatting. I'll come back and see you soon." With that I left the dungeon, locking the door behind me, and made my way through the maze-like halls of the castle.

After about five minutes, I knew it would take too long and vapor travelled to the doors of the throne-room. The two monsters that were guarding the doors opened them, glaring at me with hatred. I waved in a mock-friendly manner at them and walked through the doors.

"Lord Kronos," I said in a quiet tone, bowing. I had my indifferent mask on, like I always did around the Lord of Time.

"Perseus (I flinched when he used my real name), we're moving out with the plan early. Get your troops ready," Kronos said with a commanding tone that told me not to argue.

But of course, being me, I said, "But Kronos-" I was cut off by Kronos, who slammed the butt of his scythe into my stomach and sent me flying back into the black marble wall behind me. I groaned and coughed up a bit of blood, then sat up in the rubble.

"Don't address me so casually, boy," Kronos said.

I stood up and bowed again, saying, "I apologize, My Lord." I straightened out of my bow and continued. "I'll inform my troops of the plan and go on my own. They would just get in the way."

Kronos seemed to think about this for a minute. "Go ahead."

I nodded and dusted the dirt off of me, then forced the doors of the throne room open with a blast of wind. I strode through the doors and vapor travelled back into the dungeon. "Change of plans," I said. I still had my indifferent mask on. "We're going on a little field trip, so be good."

"We're not going anywhere with you," Annabeth spat, disgust clear in her eyes.

"You don't have much of a choice," I said and summoned some ice chains that wrapped around the trio's wrists. "This isn't ordinary ice. It's unbreakable, so don't try anything," I said. I opened the cell door and tugged on the chains, practically dragging them through.

"If you don't come willingly, I'll drag you there," I growled.

"And where is there?" Nico and Grover asked at the same time.

"Oh, you'll know it when we get there," I said, and opened up a water portal to Half-Blood Hill. We walked through (they decided they  _didn't_ want to be dragged), and the three behind me gasped. "Why are we here?!" Annabeth asked. I didn't answer.

Instead, I reached over and tapped my bracelet, and it turned into a gun. I pointed the gun in the air and shot five times. It didn't take long for the horn to be blown, and the campers (plus Chiron) to gather on the hill.

To say everyone was shocked would be an understatement. It looked like some of them were going to try to hug me, but they stopped themselves when they saw Annabeth, Grover, and Nico chained up behind me, and the chains in my hands.

I saw silver mixed in with the crowd, and realized that the Hunters were there too. "So," I said, addressing Chiron, "Either you surrender, or I kill these three, and if you still don't surrender, I will kill all of the campers here. Including the Hunters." Chiron's face was pale.

"What's going on?" Chiron asked me, and heard some of the campers whispering similar.

"Oh, you haven't heard? I'm Kronos' new commander. I lead his armies," I said, smirking.

Chiron's expression became sad, and he told the campers, "Drop your weapons. We surrender."

I smirked even wider at that. Until a silver arrow went flying past my ear. I had dodged it when I sensed it coming for me. I searched the crowd for the Hunter who let the arrow fly, and finally spotted a defiant looking Thalia holding her bow in a ready stance.

"Hello, spawn of Zeus," I said, and it thundered. Gods how that annoyed me. Thalia glared at me.

"I don't care if you used to be my friend. If you try to hurt or capture the camp, the Hunters will defend it," Thalia said. I yanked Annabeth towards me and placed the barrel of the gun against her temple.

Thalia turned slightly pale and tensed. "You've really turned into quite the coward! Using hostages!" Clarisse yelled, looking angry.

"It was your own father's idea. He's the one who told me about hostages in war in the first place," I said, making Clarisse turn an even deeper shade of red due to anger and embarrassment.

"Fight me," Thalia said. "Fight me. If you win, you get the camp and the Hunters. If I win,  _you_ surrender to  _us_."

I grinned, excited. "I'll take you up on that challenge." I hadn't had good competition in a while. It would be nice to have someone who at least provides a  _small_ challenge. The campers looked more hopeful when I agreed, probably thinking Thalia would be able to beat me.

"Wait," Thalia said. "Swear it on the Styx. And no killing anyone either." I swore on the Styx, and it thundered tremendously, though I think it also had something to do with Thalia as well. I was led to the sword arena, and Thalia and I got into our fighting stances. I morphed my gun into twin blades, one Stygian iron, the other adamantine. Thalia traded her bow out for her shield, Aegis, and her spear.

"Begin!" Chiron yelled, looking uneasy. Thalia charged at me, thrusting her spear towards my ribs. I dodged, but she followed up with five lightning strikes aimed right at me. I dodged all but the last one, the internal damage done by Kronos taking its toll.

The lightning struck me, but I stayed standing and vapor travelled behind Thalia right as she tried to send her spear through me again. I slashed at her back, but she spun around and blocked the attack with her shield. Thalia and I exchanged blows with water and lightning, sword on spear and shield, for an hour before Thalia slammed her shield into me and I fell to the ground on my back, breathing heavily. The Hunter placed the tip of her spear at my throat, electricity crackling along the shaft and up her arm.

I raised my arms in surrender. "You win. I surrender to the gods." Thalia looked triumphant, and we both burst out laughing a couple of seconds later. That was the best fight I'd had since Lu- I cut that thought off.

The campers and Hunters looked confused, and after we calmed down, I said, "That was the best fight I've had in a while." Thalia smiled at me for a second before scowling and punching me in the stomach as hard as she could. I coughed, and blood came up.

Pain seemed to consume me. I kept coughing, and Thalia looked concerned. I rolled onto my side and groaned. The edges of my vision were blurring, and what I saw looked like black and white. It started to rain, but that didn't help. If anything, it made it worse. After another five minutes of coughing, of people surrounding me, of the Apollo campers trying to help me, my vision went black and I lost consciousness.

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO—

**Nico's POV**

About three hours later I sat at Percy's bedside in the infirmary. Apparently he'd passed out from serious internal damage and head trauma. I didn't know where he'd gotten it, but it made me worry about how he'd been living for the past year.

I was about to get up and leave when I saw Percy moving and mumbling things I couldn't quite make out. A nightmare, I realized. Percy was having a nightmare. I sat back down and took his hand in mine. It was strange seeing Percy again after believing he was dead for a year. And he'd changed a lot too. He went from kind and warm to cold and calculating.

His eyes had changed to a darker shade of green, like the depths of the ocean. His hair was longer, down to his shoulders, and even more unruly than before. And his skin was marred with scars and almost paler than mine (if that's even possible). Even the way he dressed and walked was different.

Now he wore a MCR t-shirt (I love anyone who knows what that is), a black camo jacket over it, and fingerless gloves. He had light blue skinny jeans on and combat boots. And his walk. It was full of confidence. But not the good kind.

When he'd come back from his summons, he had a terrifying look on his face, cold and indifferent, the polar opposite of what he'd had before. I was worried about him, both mentally and physically. For now, though, I just hoped that he would help us, that he would come back to our side. That he would come back to me.

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**So that's chapter one. I'm not sure when I'll update again, but please review and tell me how it was. Good? Bad? Okay? Give me requests for pairings or other things by PM or review and I'll do my best.**

**KingOMalley out!**


	2. His Haunting Past

**So chapter two now! Yay! I hope I have people reading this. The first chapter didn't seem very good to me. If people** _**are** _ **reading this, prepare for an angst tidal wave that's coming. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**Percy's POV**

_This nightmare was one of the worst I'd had. It was the day I'd 'died', or at least that's what the gods thought happened to me. But what I got was much worse than death._

_It was near the end of the Battle of the Labyrinth (Grover didn't use the scream thing in time). I was slicing through monster after monster, turning them to dust and getting covered in dust myself. I was about to slice a Cyclops in half when I felt a tug on the back of my shirt._

_I was sent flying back into Zeus' Fist, where I saw who threw me back. It had been a turned demigod, who was smiling evilly at me. I tried to bring my sword up, but my arm was heavy, like stone. I couldn't move it at all. It was as if . . . I was poisoned._

_I spotted a wound at my shoulder then that had purple veins branching out and sending poison to the rest of my body. "Percy!" I heard Annabeth yell. I couldn't find her. She seemed to be somewhere else in the battle. The demigod in front of me brought his sword up and stabbed me right through my heart, and I cried out in pain._

_I could feel the poison working its way through my body, burning my veins. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I could only sit there and watch the battle as I died. "Oh, no you don't," the demigod said. "You aren't dying yet. The lord wants to see you first."_

" _NO!" I heard Nico yell as the demigod pulled out a vial and forced the liquid down my throat. My vision started going black, the edges getting blurry and color leaking out of the world. I coughed blood up._

_It felt as though I was frozen in time, and the demigod picked me up and threw me into the net of a dracnae, who wrapped me up in it and started dragging me towards the entrance of the Labyrinth. And then the most blood curdling scream I ever heard erupted from the edge of the forest._

_Footsteps came rushing to where we were, and I saw a sea of monsters sprinting to the Fist. The dracnae and demigod looked confused, and let wave after wave of monsters pass us until it was just us and the campers that chased the monsters._

_I heard cries of 'Percy!' and 'NO!' and other variations of that. And they were looking right at me. "H-he's dead!" Grover cried, hugging a sobbing Juniper. The other campers were in similar disarray, crying and cursing the gods and Titans. They thought I was dead._

_I wanted to get up and yell, "I'm alive!" but I couldn't move at all. Not even a twitch of a finger. I felt dead. I probably looked dead too. One lone tear made its way down my face. With that, the demigods charged, but the demigod and dracnae jumped through the entrance of the Labyrinth and dragged me through the horrible maze, not caring whether I was in pain or not. About an hour later I blacked out completely._

_I woke up an unknown time later in a chamber where time doesn't move, looking up at a grinning Kronos ready to torture me into submission and loyalty._

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

I woke with a start, panting and sweaty. A startled looking Nico was sitting in a chair next to me, looking on with worry and fear. "What?" I asked irritably.

"What do you mean 'What'?" Nico asked, looking incredulous. "You just woke up from a horrible sounding nightmare and you ask me 'What'?!"

"Why do you even care?" I asked. "Right now I'm just a traitor you're keeping prisoner until you figure out what to do with me. It shouldn't matter to you whether I'm having good dreams or not."

"Of course it matters!" Nico exclaimed. He stayed silent for a moment before continuing in a low tone, "You may have betrayed us, but we still care about you." I scoffed and flopped back onto the bed, holding back a wince at the soreness in my body.

"I doubt my father still cares," I said softly, running a hand through my unruly hair.

"Actually . . ." Nico started. "You're father is close to fading because he thinks you're dead." I stared at him for a second before letting out a soft chuckle.

"Wow, he  _does_ care. That's news to me," I said quietly. I was quiet for a couple of minutes before asking, "Can I go take a shower, Mr. Warden?" My tone was sarcastic and playful.

This irritated Nico and he said, "Sure, but I'm walking you there. I don't trust you to cooperate."

"Nico, I swore on the River Styx that I would cooperate. I don't plan on breaking that promise any time soon," I said.

"I'm still walking you there. I don't trust all of the campers either," Nico said. "I'm pretty sure some of them, and the Hunters, want to jump you and tear you to pieces for your betrayal." I thought about that for a second before agreeing. I noticed it was night, so I wasn't sure why he would be leading me there, but let him anyway.

He led me to the showers, and I went in. "Wait!" Nico said. "You need some clothes."

"No need," I sighed. "I'll take care of that myself." I walked in completely and turned on one of the showers.

**Nico's POV**

I waited for fifteen minutes for Percy to come out of the showers. When he finally did, he was in pretty much the same thing, except he had red fingerless gloves on, black skinny jeans, and a red MCR t-shirt. "Why did you come with me if it's the middle of the night?" Percy asked.

It was then that I realized that Percy had become a lot sharper and smarter than he used to be. "Well . . ." I started.

"Wait, let me guess," Percy said. "You're basically my guard until the gods know what to do with me, right?" I internally winced. Percy was  _a lot_ smarter than he used to be.

"Basically," I sighed. I looked closely at Percy, and noticed how pale he was, and how tired he looked. "What was your dream about?" I asked.

He stiffened and his gaze hardened. "Just . . . nothing," he said, turning his face away from me.

"What is it?" I asked softly. I was really worried about him. It seemed as though the nightmare was more than just that. It looked like torture, like the worst punishment he could've been given. It reminded me of when my sister died, and I disappeared into the Underworld.

I had horrible dreams about her, of Bianca being tortured and worse. I shut myself out and built a wall between me and everybody else. I was like that even after I forgave Percy. Until the day he disappeared. I started opening up to some of the campers, and my reputation as the emo goth kid disappeared somewhat.

Except I was worried Percy would never open up, because I'm sure what he went through was much worse than what I could even imagine. And I could imagine some pretty horrible stuff. I'd been down in the Underworld and seen the Fields of Punishment after all. And it wasn't pretty.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Percy gave a tired sigh. "It was about the day Kro- the Titans captured me. That's all."

And then I understood. It must have been horrible; knowing that you're friends believed you were dead when you really weren't, that you couldn't do anything about it or comfort them. And the torture he must've been subjected to . . . well, I'd rather not think about it.

"But . . ." I started. "I could sense that you were dead. I still can." Percy looked away from me again, and out towards the sea. He didn't respond for a few minutes, so I said, "I can take you to your cabin."

Percy only nodded in response, putting up a cold façade that I could see right through. He was hurting and full of confusing emotions. I led Percy to the Poseidon cabin, and went in, disappearing in the gloom of the room.

I sighed and turned around, making my way towards the Big House where I was currently staying in. I just hoped that the next day would be easier than the one I'd just had.

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**Percy's POV**

I woke up to a cry of, "BROTHER!" I suddenly felt myself being squeezed tightly, and knew of only one person that could hug like that. I internally rolled my eyes, really not wanting to deal with the child-like Cyclops.

"Let go . . ." I gasped out, and the pressure on my body disappeared.

"Sorry, Brother," Tyson said, smiling happily at me, though there were some stray tears rolling down his face. I sighed.

"I thought you were down in Poseidon's forges," I said.

"Yes," Tyson said, "but Dad sent me back here when he heard you were alive." I frowned. ' _So he really_ does  _care_ ' I thought.

I got out of the silk laden bed and made my way towards the entrance of the cabin. "Brother, where are you going?"

"To meet my guard for the day," I said with a smirk. I opened the door, and felt it bump into something, and that something yelped and fell forward into the dirt.

"Sorry 'bout that," I said, not really meaning it. It had been Grover I'd sent flying.

"Its fine," he mumbled, dusting the dirt off of his body. "I'll take you to breakfast." I nodded and let the satyr lead me to the pavilion (though I could've gotten there myself easily) and sat with me at the Poseidon table. I was hesitant to sit there.

The table had become dusty and worn down in the past year. I waved my hand and a blast of wind blew all of the dust off of the table. The campers gasped, and some even drew their weapons and pointed them at me. "What?" I asked. "I was just cleaning the table up."

The people who drew their weapons put them away and sat down, but they didn't relax. If anything, they got even more nervous and fidgety. The naiads refused to bring me any food, so Grover got up and grabbed two plates of pancakes and bacon, with buttery rolls on the side.

I got up hesitantly and scraped some of the bacon into the fire, muttering, "This is for you, Poseidon." The burnt food smelled like the ocean breeze on a clear day, when the ocean looks almost like glass. I resisted a smile.

I turned around, ignoring the stares I got, and walked back to the Poseidon table, cutting into the pancakes and eating all of them in three quick bites. I finished my bacon just as quickly. I was starving, because the ambrosia and nectar I was given just didn't do the trick. If anything, they just made my hunger worse.

I was about to get up to leave the pavilion, when Annabeth stalked over to me and slapped me across the face. "You idiot!" she yelled, and ran away in the direction of the Athena cabin.

"What was that about?" I asked myself.

"She's mad at you for doing that to your mom," Grover said, answering my question. "They spent the last year comforting each other whenever Annabeth had free time. Your mother hasn't been doing well."

I sighed and put my face in my hands, rubbing my tiredness away. With that, I got up and walked up to Chiron. "Chiron, do I have permission to go see my mother?"

Chiron (Even Chiron!) looked at me with suspicion, and told me to go to the Big House to talk. Five minutes later I was sitting in the main room of the Big House across from Chiron.

"Why do you want to see your mother?" he asked me.

It hurt to know that even Chiron didn't trust me. "Because she deserves to know that I'm alive. And I miss her." Chiron still didn't look like he believed me. "I swear on the River Styx," I said. Thunder rumbled (gods how I hate that!) and Chiron finally seemed to believe me.

"I'll have to send someone with you, but I'll allow it," Chiron said. "And just so you know, you're mother recently had a little girl. It's on you if Kronos goes after them." I flinched.

' _I'll kill them if you ever betray me,'_ Kronos voice echoed in my head. "No," I whispered, staring down at my lap. ' _You can never betray me. Or your beloved family will be killed right in front of you.'_

"Percy?" Chiron asked, sounding wary.

I tangled my hands in my hair. The memories were trying to swallow me, to take over my very being. "No, no, no!" I said. "Stop! Please stop! I can't . . ." I was hyperventilating now, having a panic attack.  _'I'll break you until you're only my loyal puppet, so that there is no life left in you.'_

"Percy!" Chiron said, shaking me. I felt the wind pick up in the room, swirling around me like a hurricane.

"Stop, stop, stop!" I yelled, pain and fear consuming me. And then everything went black, the last thing I saw being the distrustful look of Chiron and some of the other campers.

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**So that's chapter two wrapped up! I hope you enjoyed! If anyone didn't get it, MCR is (was *sobs*) a band that is amazing called My Chemical Romance. Sadly they split up a year ago, but I incorporated them in the story anyways. Review! PM! Favorite! Follow! Thanks for reading!**

**~O'Malley out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm really sorry about the confusion with this chapter. Please forgive me! *bows* Chapter three time. I'm sorry about the cliffhanger in the last chapter (but, you know, not really). I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I** _**don't** _ **own PJO or HOO.**

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**Nico's POV**

I had still been sleeping in the Big House when breakfast started. I was abruptly woken from my deep slumber by the sound of yelling. "Stop, stop, stop!" It was Percy's voice. I bolted upright in the bed and dashed down two sets of stairs, coming to a stop in the main room of the Big House.

Percy was laying passed out on the floor in front of one of the couches. A few of the campers (namely Grover, Annabeth, and Clarisse) were standing around him, along with Chiron. There were also some Apollo campers kneeling next to him, checking on him.

"What happened?" I asked, taking in their shaken up expressions.

"I-I don't know," Chiron said. "I was just talking to him, and he started panicking, yelling, then he passed out."

"Is he okay?" Grover asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine," an Apollo camper said. "It seems as though he had a panic attack. Something probably set it off." With that, the Apollo campers that were there got up and left, sending distrustful glances at Percy.

"What were you talking about?" Annabeth and Clarisse asked at the same time. They glared at each other.

"Well," Chiron started, "we were talking about him going to visit his mother-"

I noticed Annabeth narrow her eyes at this.

"-and I warned him that it was his own fault if the Titans went after her and her family. Then he just started losing it." Chiron finished.

I looked at Percy with worry, as did Grover. I walked over and put a hand on his forehead, then pulled away quickly when I felt how cold it was. It was colder than my own skin. I gently picked him up and laid him on the couch.

"Why'd you do that?" Annabeth asked.

"You weren't just going to leave him on the floor, were you?" I asked.

"Why not? He's just a traitor, isn't he?" Clarisse asked, glaring at Percy's unconscious form.

"Did you ever wonder  _why_ he might have joined them, if he was so loyal to us?" Grover asked, shocking me slightly. I hadn't expected him to defend Percy.

This made Annabeth and Clarisse go silent with their arguments. They seemed to be a bit ashamed at their actions.

Chiron sighed. "That's a puzzle we'll have to figure out later. Nico, I want you to go with me when Percy wakes up to visit the gods." I nodded, though I was confused as to why he would want me to go with him.

"I'll stay with him," I said, noticing how hesitant the others were about sticking around. "I'll take him up to my room."

"I'll go with you," Grover said quietly. I nodded and picked Percy up bridal style, making my way to the stairs. I walked back up the two sets of stairs, the only sound being the thunk of Grover's hooves against the wood.

I asked Grover to open my door for me, and I went in, laying Percy down on the bed gently. "Why did you stick up for him?" I asked Grover.

Grover thought about it for a moment before saying, "He's my best friend. And I do believe he has a good reason for turning on us. He wouldn't betray us voluntarily. Never. Why are you sticking up for him?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I really wasn't sure why I was sticking up for him. "Do you like him?" Grover asked, smiling almost evilly (or as evil as a goat man can get).

I blushed. I couldn't respond. It didn't seem as though I needed to. "Don't worry about it Nico. I already knew anyway." Percy started shifting around.

I looked at him, and his eyes opened slowly. He groaned, then closed his eyes again. After another minute he opened his eyes again and sat up, eyeing us warily.

"What am I doing in here?" Percy asked.

"You passed out," Grover said.

"Well I know that much," Percy sighed. "But why am I  _here_?"

"Because we wanted you to be somewhere comfortable. Not on a hard wooden floor," I said, rolling my eyes. "Get up. I've gotta take you down to Chiron so you can see the gods.

Percy seemed to pale slightly at that. I frowned, wondering what would make him scared about that.

**Percy's POV**

"Get up. I've gotta take you down to Chiron so you can see the gods," Nico said to me. I paled. Kronos would definitely kill my family if I went there.

"Fine, I'll go," I muttered in annoyance. 'It's not like I can be in their lives anymore anyway' I thought. 'It's better off if they're dead.'

I got out of the bed, and Nico (who I think I saw blushing) and Grover lead me back down stairs. "Percy?" Nico asked.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"Why did you have that panic attack?" he asked. I didn't answer.

Grover noticed my discomfort and said, "We can ask him about it later. Right now we have to take him to the gods." Nico took the hint and didn't ask again.

We finally made it down stairs, where we waited while Grover went to tell Chiron I was awake. A couple of minutes later Chiron was walking into the Big House, ducking under the doorframe.

"Come, Percy, Nico," Chiron said. "Argus is waiting with the van."

I followed them outside and up the hill, albeit hesitantly, where the camp van was waiting. Chiron got in his motorized wheelchair and got in the van via handicap rail, while Nico and I climbed in the van using normal means.

Fifteen minutes later we were standing (or sitting in Chiron's case) in front of the Empire State Building. I sighed and went in first, grabbing the key card out of Chiron's grip. I went in and flashed the man behind the table the card, and he nodded at me.

I didn't wait for Nico or Chiron, and got in the elevator, letting them scramble to get in. Both of them managed to get in before the doors closed, and I slid the plastic card into the slot, then pushed the button that would take me to Olympus (A/N tell me if I got that wrong).

After a long ride in the elevator with disco music that Apollo would love, the door finally opened with a ding, and I stepped out. Olympus hadn't changed at all since the last time I was there. Nymphs and minor gods were still living their lives there. There were still vendors with replicas of the Golden Fleece. The Muses were still playing music in the park. It hadn't changed.

I started walking through the city, Grover and Chiron behind me, and the entire place went silent. People paused mid-step when they saw me and the Muses stopped playing their music.

I ignored the shocked stares I got and kept walking till I reached the throne room of the gods. The doors opened automatically and I walked to the middle of the huge room. The Olympians stared at me with shock (except for Hestia, who smiled warmly at me), and my father started crying.

"Why did you summon me here?" I asked, not bothering with formalities.

"How dare you treat the gods with such disrespect?!" Zeus roared.

"It's simple," I said. "Because I just don't respect you." Waves of power rolled off of Zeus, and he took his Master Bolt out, aiming it right at me.

"Zeus, stop it," my father's voice rang out, ragged from disuse. Zeus froze in shock, staring at his brother like he came from outer space.

"Why did you stop him, Poseidon?" I asked. "Aren't I going to die today anyway?"

Poseidon stared at me for a second, thinking. He then stood up and shrunk down to his human form. "Why would you think that, my son?" he asked, walking towards me.

"Because I'm a traitor, right?" my voice was emotionless now, my expression cold and indifferent.

"No!" Poseidon exclaimed. "I don't believe that. Not for a second."

"Sorry to break it to you, old man, but I  _did_ join Kronos. I betrayed the gods." Poseidon froze, a meter away from me.

"No, it's not possible," my father whispered in denial.

I laughed, a bitter and dark laugh that screamed insanity. "You don't understand, do you? I joined the Titans, betrayed the gods, I've even killed people. I'm not the same loyal little boy I was a year ago when the Titans captured me. I'm an assassin, a killer that will stop at nothing until I get the job done. Ruthless. Understand?"

My hands were shaking, and my bangs covered my eyes. "Now, can we get on with why you summoned me here?" I asked.

"W-we summoned you here," Zeus started, stuttering uncharacteristically, "to decide whether you're an enemy, or an ally. If you're an enemy, you'll die here today."

"Told you so," I whispered to Poseidon. "Then consider me an enemy," I addressed all of the gods this time.

"Fine," Zeus said, and pulled his weapon out again. "Are you sure about your decision?" he asked, looking hesitant.

"Yup," I said, smiling. Zeus pulled his arm back and prepared to throw his bolt at me, and I suddenly felt sick, like I was poisoned, dying. I knew it was a message from Kronos. I paled and yelled, "Wait!" just as Zeus was about to throw the bolt.

Hestia frowned, looking worried. "I'll be your ally!" I said, voice shaking. Poseidon looked relieved but confused.

**Nico's POV**

I couldn't believe Percy was about to let himself die like that! "Are you sure about your decision?" Zeus asked. He looked hesitant to kill Percy, which was strange since he's wanted to kill him from day one.

"Yup," Percy said with a smile. But his eyes said differently. His eyes said that he was lifeless, nothing more than Kronos' puppet, looking for release from his living hell.

Zeus pulled the Master Bolt back, ready to throw it, and I cringed, looking away. "Wait!" Percy's desperate voice suddenly rang out. I looked up, and noticed how pale the sea prince was, fear dancing in his eyes. But the fear didn't seem to be of dying. The fear was of something else, something worse. And I could guess what it was. Kronos.

"I'll be your ally!" Percy said with a shaky voice.

All of the gods that cared about Percy looked relieved, and even Zeus did. He pulled his arm down and put the weapon away. Percy ran a shaky hand through his hair, and gave me a fleeting smile that became imprinted in my memory. Not because it was stunning, but because he was trying to reassure me with it.

It seemed as though Percy hadn't changed as much as he thought.

We were back at camp twenty minutes later, and Percy was silent and sulky the whole time. What exactly had Kronos done to him to make him so scared?

As Percy and I walked through the camp, I asked, "Why did you change your mind about dying?"

He shrugged, and said, "I don't know. I guess I just don't wanna die as much as I thought." I didn't believe him. The lie wasn't even the least bit believable, but that was probably because I was an expert at reading people. To anybody else, it would've seemed legitimate.

"Come on," I sighed and dragged Percy to his cabin. He didn't resist at all, contrary to what I thought he would do. I pulled the door open and forced him in, then went in myself, pulling the door shut behind me.

"You're lying," I whispered. "I can tell you want to die. So tell me the truth. Why did you change your mind?"

And then Percy's mask broke. The fear and pain showed through into his expression, and he said, "Because I was scared. Kronos would torture me for the rest of eternity if I died on my own time. But I didn't think about it until it was almost too late."

"If you died on your own time . . .?" I asked, trailing off. I felt anger trickling into my voice. Percy only nodded in response. My anger melted when I saw Percy's broken expression, when I saw the raw pain he felt. "Percy . . ." I sighed.

He looked up at me, and I saw that he had built his mask back up, and it was even more convincing than before. "Stop that," I demanded.

"What?" Percy asked, looking confused.

"Stop putting up a mask in front of me. I can see right through it." Percy looked away from me, and out the window that looked out on the beach.

" _You_ might be able to see through the mask, but others can't. I'd rather keep it that way," he said.

"Then only take it down when we're alone," I said matter-of-factly. Percy flinched. I could see his mask cracking again, and his brokenness peeking through. I walked over to him and hugged him in a comforting manner. Percy stiffened, and I quickly let go of him, thinking I crossed the line.

When I looked at Percy's expression, it was cold and indifferent. I realized I  _had_ crossed the line. Percy didn't have enough trust built up for a close relationship with any of us.

"Can I go see my mom?" he asked with a quiet tone, still not looking at me.

"I-I don't know," I stuttered, taken by surprise at the change of subject. "I guess I can get Argus to drive us there. Chiron did give you permission."

Percy finally looked at me, and smiled. It looked slightly happy, too. And that gave me hope. Maybe he  _could_ be saved after all.

"Then let's go," he said, smile fading into his playful and mocking expression.

-PJO—PJO—PJO—PJO-

**So that's chapter three wrapped up! Review! Follow! Favorite! PM! Send me requests if you like. Look out for the next chapter! And again, I'm really sorry about the chapter confusion. That was completely my fault.**

**O'Malley out!**


	4. Chapter Four

**I really appreciate the support you guys give me. And also, I want to ask you guys to maybe give me some requests or advice for the story. That would be really helpful.**

**Anyways, on to the fanfic!!**

**\--PJO--PJO--PJO--**

**Percy's POV**

As Argus drove Nico and me to my mom's apartment, I couldn't help but fidget nervously. Would she hate me for making her think that I was dead? Would she hug me and tell me she missed her little boy? Would she kick me out and tell me never to come near her again?

All of these thoughts ran through my head as we drove through Manhattan, and it took Nico yelling my name multiple times to draw me from those thoughts. "Sorry," I muttered, not bothering with acting mocking. I was too nervous to care.

My hands were shaking slightly as I went up the metal stairs of the apartment complex. It was as if I was moving in slow motion, and felt as though I was walking forever until I reached the apartment my mother lived in.

I took one deep breath . . . then two . . . then another, and then I knocked on the door hestitantly, hands still shaking. Nico put a calming hand on my shoulder, but I flinched away from it.

I saw the teen frown in the corner of my eye. My attention was brought back to the apartment as I saw the door open. "Hello?" I hear my mother's voice say, and then I saw her face. She looked slightly older, more worry lines, but she was still beautiful with her kalaidescope eyes and brown hair.

"M-Mom," I stuttered. "I'm home." Her eye's widened in shock. She just stared at me for a few seconds, tears forming in her eyes. And the she slapped me. My eyes widened in shock, but were hidden my my bangs.

"How could you do that us?!" she yelled. "Do you know how worried I was?!" Her voice broke. I mistook her anger as hate, and only realized later that it was just hurt, and that there was love in her eyes.

Tears formed, but I didn't let either of then see them. "I . . . I'm sorry . . ." I whispered. And then I turned and ran away.

"Percy!" Nico and Sally both yelled at the same time. Foot steps rushed after me. Words were spoken. I hardly processed any of it. I quickly outdistanced Nico, and disappeared from his line of sight. The footsteps faded intot he crowded noised of Manhattan.

I ran and ran, not thinking of a destination, not thinking anything really. After about half an hour (though in the state I was in, it could've been any amount of time), I stopped running in a dark alley, breathing heavily.

I leaned against a grimy wall and cried silently, thinking about the amount of hurt in my mother's voice. I stood there for a few minutes after my breathing evened out, then decided to turn back and try it again, to try and talk to my mom again.

"Well, what do we have here?" a voice sounded out. A man with shaggy brown hair and murky brown eyes, all muscly and confident looking, walked out of the shadows, followed by some of, what I guessed they were, his goons.

"It seems some weakling has wandered into my territory," the man said. I glared at him, wiping the tears off my face.

Without a word, I sent a blast of wind at them, which blew them back into the hard brick walls and knocked all of them out with a sickening crunch. I didn't even fear that I killed them.

I backed away slowly, and then tried to run again, but ran into a man that I knew all too well. _Kronos,_ I thought. I looked up into his golden eyes, though I could've sworn they had flashed that beautiful blue for a second.

"Perseus, it seems as though you've gone against me," Kronos deep, cutting voice rumbled as I backed away from him.

I quickly bent into a kneel. "Of course not, Lord Kronos," I said in a soft voice. "I was captured in a moment of stupidity and forced into staying there."

A cold hand, the hand that used to be so warm and gentle, grabbed my chin up and forced me into looking up at the Titan. Those golden eyes seemed to look right through me. "I don't believe you. And now I'll have to punish you. I told you that if you went and told your family that you were alive I'd kill them. And now that's what I'm going to do."

I said nothing, unable to speak out of pure fear. Kronos let go of my chin and grabbed my upper arm, forcing me to my feet. He then flashed me to my mother's house, where her and Nico were sitting, looking immensely worried.

Their heads snapped to Kronos and I, and the way there was no emotions showing on my face, the way I refused to meet their eyes. I spotted the child sitting on my mother's lap, who had beautiful kelaidescope eyes just like my mother, and a tuft of brown hair atop her head.

I looked away. "It seems as though my general has gone soft. So now I'll have to harden him up again," Kronos said, and summoned his scythe. He pointed it at my mother, to where the tip was just touching her neck.

"Percy," she breathed, fear in her eyes. I met them with a cold look of my own. Shock and hurt shown in her eyes, but also understanding.

"I have no lingering feelings for these people, my lord," I said, smirking cruelly. "You can do what you like to them, but it won't affect (effect?) me in the slightest."

Kronos matched my smirk with a smirk of his own. "Then kill them."

Internally my mask slipped, but I didn't let the Titan see it. "Why would you want me to do that, when they could be of use to us when it comes to the Athena girl?" I asked.

Kronos seemed to think about that. I continued. "If we kill them now, the girl would only have more reason to want to defeat us. It would defeat the whole purpose of leaving them alive in the first place."

"Of course," Kronos laughed coldly. "That's why you're my general. You are cruel and rutheless. But know, _boy,_ that if you do hold any feelings for these people," he paused, making a small cut on my mother's neck. She gasped in pain. "-I will make you kill them yourself. Is that clear?"

"Of course, my lord," I said, smirking even wider, and lowering into another kneel.

"I will be taking you back with me now. You are still in line for punishment. You have failed in your duties," Kronos said, making me pale, and my smirk slip off my face. "Ah, I see you realize the severity this punishment will hold." The Titan laughed cruelly, then laid a hand on my shoulder and flashed us back to his palace, fear coursing through my veins.

**Nico's POV**

The whole exchange between Percy and Kronos left me stunned. Had Percy been acting this whole time? Had it all been fake? I couldn't comprehend what had happened. I barely had enough time to look away when Kronos flashed out with Percy. "NO!" I yelled, but it was too late. They were gone.

I noticed Sally was bleeding. "Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded.

"He's so different than he used to be," she whispered. I only nodded my agreement. I jolted when I realized I needed to tell Chiron what happened.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Jackson, but I need to go," I said. "I've gotta tell Chiron what happened."

Sally smiled warmly at me, though I could see sadness in it too, and said, "It's fine Nico. Please just . . . help him. And be careful." I smiled sadly at her and nodded. Despite how tired it usually made me, I shadow-travelled to the Big House where Chiron was, making him jump.

"Something's happened," I said. Chiron sat me down and told me to explain, which I did. He looked grim when I finished.

"It seems as though he's gone back to Kronos," Chiron said.

"No!" I exclaimed. "It wasn't that way! Percy was just trying to protect his family! And Kronos told him he was being punished! Percy was terrified. He didn't go back willingly!"

Chiron only shook his head sadly and dismissed me, signalling the end of the conversation.

**\--PJO--PJO--PJO--**

**And that's it. I can't really tell if it's short or not, but it really feels that way, so I apologize. Just a tip for the next update, reviewing makes it come much faster. I will most likely respond to your reviews my PM, and I will end up acknowledging you in the Author's Note at some point. I really appreciate the reviews. So review, favorite, follow, and PM. Send requests and I will most likely respond to it.**

**~O'Malley out!!**

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter Five

**So chapter five. Let's see how this works out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson ;-;**

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**\---PJO---PJO---PJO---PJO---**

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**Nico's POV- 1 Week Later**

As we watched Percy stumble into the camp, there was blood. So much blood I could hardly believe the teen was still alive. I ran forward when I noticed everyone else was just staring in shock, and barely caught Percy before he hit the ground. There were cuts and wounds and bruises all over his body, and anger coursed through me.

The anger drained out of me, though, when I heard the groan of pain from Percy. "Percy?" His eyes slowly slipped closed, and his head fell to the side. "No no no no no!" I said. "You can't lose consciousness now!"

The Apollo campers quickly made their way over to me (though they threw glares at the demigod in my arms, which I returned), and put Percy on a stretcher. He was rushed off to the Big House with a huge crowd or demigods following.

The next few hours passed in a blur as the Apollo campers shouted and rushed about to save Percy. Meanwhile, all I could do was hope that I didn't feel his soul passing into my father's realm.

Sometimes I felt it tipping closer to going to the Underworld, then it would tip closer to remaining alive. It was the most nerve wracking thing I had ever experienced. And that's saying something.

Finally, around two in the morning, the Apollo campers came out looking exhausted but satisfied. They made their way over to me as I felt Percy's soul finally decide that it wanted to stay.

"He was horribly injured, as I'm sure you could tell," one said. "He had multiple lacerations all over his body, along with a really bad concussion, which has put him in a coma despite the ambrosia and nectar we gave him. There was major internal bleeding. The worst of his injuries was the scar going across his face from his temple to his jaw. It'll heal but we can't get rid of the scarring."

I nodded numbly, horrified at the injuries he had. "Thanks," I whispered. "Can I see him?" I asked in a louder voice. The Apollo campers nodded, and went off to their cabin to clean up and sleep.

When I saw Percy, my breathing stopped, and my face paled (if that's even possible). He looked as though he was a ghost. Percy's skin was white (quite literally) and most of his body was covered in bandages from what I could see. The most prominent thing about him was the scar going from his temple to his jaw.

Aparently the Apollo kids had healed that first, so only the scar was remaining. I walked over to the man slowly and ghosted my fingers over his hand, contemplating whether I should take it or not. Making my mind up, I sat in the chair next to Percy's bed and held his hand, jolting slightly when I realized how cold it was.

"Percy . . ." I breathed. His breathing was slightly uneven, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. I sat there for an hour before I drifted off, still holding Percy's hand.

**\-- >o<\--**

I was awoken the next morning to a strangled gasp, and a small sob. I sat up from my slumped position, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, then looked up and saw Annabeth standing there with a hand over her mouth, and tears in her eyes.

"Annabeth," I said in greeting. It was as though the daughter of Athena hadn't heard me. She just walked over to the other side of the bed, as if in a trance, and stared at the Sea Prince in shock.

"Oh gods . . . " she gasped quietly. "Who did this to you?" I wondered what she meant by that. Whether she meant the injuries, or the complete personality change.

"He'll be okay, Annabeth," I said softly, silently questioning whether he would really be okay. Annabeth nodded, wiping away her tears and smiling sadly at the comatose teen. It was so obvious that she loved him. 'Is it like family, or . . .?' I thought.

Annabeth and I were enveloped in an awkward silence, so I said, "I'll just, uhm, leave you alone for now." Annabeth smiled gratefully at me, and I slipped out of the room, and made my way to the room I was staying in. I flopped down on the bed and drifted off into a restless sleep.

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**\-- >o<\--**

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**Percy's POV**

_I was in a circular white room that was about fifteen feet across in any direction. I noticed that I was the only one there. I walked the circumfrence of the room, running my hand against the wall, for about five minutes before I heard a voice._

_My blood ran cold. It was a voice I would never forget. My mother's. I remembered it from the night that I thought she was dead. I remember the fear and pain and coldness I felt. Suddenly, a screen popped up in front of me, just in time to show me my mother dissolving in golden dust._

_All of the horrible things that happened to me in my life, all the bloody battles, Luke betraying me, almost losing Annabeth, holding up the sky, watching my comrades die, being tortured by Kronos._ All _of it. By the time it ended I was shaking and crying silently._

_And then the room went dark, the screen disappeared, and it felt as though I was falling. The darkness was cold and unyielding. As I fell, all of my memories, the happy and sad and angry and painful ones, flew past me like movie strips, forcing me to take all of it in at once._

_Intense pain lit up in my head, and I screamed, clutching my hair. It hurt so much, as though the memories were being poured into my head (they may as well have been). "Stop it!" I yelled, but the memories kept coming and coming. 'Please,' I thought. 'Just make it stop.'_

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**\-- >o<\--**

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**I hope you enjoyed! Review, favorite, follow, PM requests. You know the drill.**

**Also,** **please don't expect me to update too quickly. That's just too much for my procrastinating mind to handle.**

**There you go!**

**~O'Malley out!**

 


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**Percy’s POV**

I woke up with a gasp. My whole body was sore and my head was pounding like someone was repeatedly hitting it with a sledgehammer. I groaned and tried to move my hands to shield my eyes from the blinding light, but found that one of them was being held back by someone else.

I looked to my left and found that Annabeth was asleep, clinging onto my hand like a lifeline. Annoyance rose in me. I got the feeling that Annabeth would be one of those clingy people, the kind that annoyed me so. I finally managed to get my hand out of her iron grip and rubbed it until I got feeling back.

I sat up slowly, wincing as my injuries protested at the movement. “Ugh, why did I come back here?” I whispered to myself. I ran a hand down my face, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes, but froze in shock when I felt a scar going across the bridge of my nose. I felt along the length of it and found that it went from my right temple, across the bridge of my nose, and to my left jaw.

I cursed under my breath in Greek, wishing that Kronos hadn’t done something so obvious to me. People would ask questions, and I really didn’t want to answer them. It wasn’t like I had to, but I hated it when people bugged me about things I didn’t want to discuss.

Someone knocked on the door, and I quickly laid back down and made myself look as though I was asleep, just in time. The person opened the door, and I heard a sigh come from them before footsteps approached the opposite side of my bed from where Annabeth was.

“Percy, what happened to you?” I heard the person ask, and I identified them as Nico. I felt a hand ghost over the scar on my face, and forced myself to stay relaxed. Another soft sigh, and his warm hand grasped my cold one.

I heard rustling to my left and realized Annabeth was waking up. “Has he woken up?” she asked Nico.

There was no spoken reply, so I assumed that Nico just shook his head. A hand ran through my hair, and I kept myself from scowling in annoyance. “Please wake up,” Annabeth whispered. “I need to talk to you.”

I’d finally had enough and opened my eyes, grabbing Annabeth’s wrist and pulling her hand out of my hair. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I said, shaking my head. I forced myself to sit up, irritated at how much effort it took to do that much.

“But . . . I just . . . one thing,” she finally said. “I just want to know one thing.”

“And what is that, Athena spawn?” I asked, propping my elbow up on my knee and placing my chin in my palm.

Annabeth flinched. “What am I to you?” she asked hesitantly. “Am I a friend, or a sister, or . . . more?”

“Look Annabeth. I don’t love you. I might have before, but I don’t now. Even then, only as a sister,” I said nonchalantly.

A hurt look crossed Annabeth’s face. “But . . . I love you. As more than a friend or a brother. Can’t you just think about it?!” The teen’s voice was full of desperation.

“I don’t love you, Annabeth. Get that through your head,” I said, looking her in the eye with a cold gaze.

“But why not?! You said you loved me before. What changed?!” she exclaimed, desperation obvious.

“Nothing changed. I loved you as a sister before. And I never loved you as more because I’m gay. I was in love with Luke for years. _I don’t love you_ ,” I said, putting emphasis on each word.

Tears formed in Annabeth’s eyes, and she suddenly looked furious. “You’re an _idiot,_ Perseus Jackson. An idiot!” The Athena spawn then ran out of the room sobbing. I sighed.

“Y-you’re gay?” Nico asked, and I suddenly remembered that he was in the room.

I looked at him, expression blank. “Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?” Nico just shook his head, looking as though he might pass out.

“And you were in love with Luke?” the son of Hades asked, his voice only a whisper.

My expression darkened. “That’s none of your business. It’s mine and mine alone.” I pushed the memories of those times back and gave the teen a look that said to drop it. Nico backed off.

I suddenly felt tired, and felt a painful strain on my muscles. I grimaced and laid back down, closing my eyes and wiping the sweat that was beaded on my forehead off. “Are you okay?” Nico asked, the worry in his voice carefully hidden but still there.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” I lied, hoping it would make the teen go away. It didn’t though.

“Percy, I know you’re lying,” he said, giving an exasperated sigh and putting a hand to my forehead. He frowned. At what, I didn’t know, but I ignored it.

“You’re too cold,” the teen said, removing his hand. “What did Kronos do to you?”

“Poison,” I said thickly. “It’s poison.” I had just remembered exactly what he had done to me, and I had to force myself to focus on the matter at hand.

“Do you know what kind of poison?” Nico asked, suddenly looking alarmed. “Why didn’t the Apollo kids notice?”

I gritted my teeth. “Because it’s untraceable. Only if you know that you’ve been poisoned do you know what it is.” I didn’t elaborate on his first question. I didn’t want to say it.

“What kind is it?” the teen asked, this time gently, as if noticing my discomfort.

“It won’t kill me. I can tell you that much. But letting it flush out of my system will be painful,” I said, noticing the dull pain that had started to form in my stomach, where one of the worst wounds were.

The subtle lines of worry were still etched into Nico’s face. “How painful?” His expression was something I couldn’t identify.

“Very,” was all I offered as an answer. “Now can you leave me alone? I want to get some sleep.”

I closed my eyes. The only response to my question was footsteps leaving the room. Contrary to what I had just said, I didn’t sleep. I only lay there with my eyes closed, trying to clear my mind for the pain to come.

About half an hour after Nico had left I felt a strange tickling in the back of my throat. Unable to stop myself, I began coughing. I rolled onto my side and clutched my stomach as intense pain radiated from there. I kept coughing and coughing into my hand, and soon felt something wet and warm splatter the inside of my hand.

I opened my eyes slowly, the coughing calming down a little bit, and wasn’t shocked to see blood spattered on my hand. I noticed dully that there was blood on the white bed sheets as well.

The pain in my stomach intensified as the coughing fit stopped. I forced myself not to cry out, but small whimpers and groans of pain managed to slip between my clenched teeth.

As soon as I saw it coming, I welcomed the darkness with open arms, grasping for anything to relieve my pain. But even as the darkness wrapped around me like a blanket, I was still half-conscious, feeling the almost unbearable pain coursing through my veins like acid fire.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

I finally completely resurfaced to someone softly singing an Italian lullaby into my ear and running a hand through my damp, sweaty hair. My body was being rocked slowly back and forth in the warm and strong embrace of the person.

I couldn’t identify who it was, though recognition fluttered inside of me slightly at the sound of the Italian lullaby. In my fever-induced state, the soft singing and gentle rocking made me drift into a peaceful sleep, even with the agony wracking my body.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**And that is chapter six. I hope you enjoyed! Favorite, follow, review, and PM me!**

**Until next time . . .**

**~O’Malley**


	7. Chapter Seven

**And chapter seven. Here we go.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own the Percy Jackson series nor will I ever. If I did I would kill of Annabeth so hard it’s not even funny. (I’m so sorry about this. This was written at four in the morning on a Monday by a lunatic.)**

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**Nico’s POV**

Percy . . . was gay? How was that even possible? He always seemed straighter than a board, never able to bend at all. But here he was, announcing it himself. I forced myself to not freak out. I listened to the rest of the conversation, but I was still in shock by the time Annabeth ran out of the room crying.

Maybe I had a chance now that I knew about it. Maybe I could finally have my feelings reciprocated. ‘ _No,’_ I thought to myself. ‘ _He said he was in love with Luke. There’s no chance left.’_ But that little sliver of hope that was still there inside of me wormed its way into my heart and refused to move. When I asked about Luke, Percy’s expression darkened and he sent me a terrifying look. I decided to drop the topic.

I noticed how worn out and tired Percy looked and put my hand to his forehead. It was too cold to be healthy. This obviously wasn’t natural or caused by any of the injuries, so what was it? I asked, and the answer I got scared me. Though he would survive, I knew that he would be in _a lot_ of pain. And I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to do anything to help him.

I left the room without a response, letting Percy rest, with worry gnawing at my insides. I could only hope at that point that the son Poseidon’s pain wouldn’t last too long. I went up to my room in the big house and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. The worry was clawing away at me, urging me to do something, _anything,_ to help Percy.

But I forced those instincts down and stayed on the bed. Without realizing it I drifted off and fell into a light sleep.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

I woke up some time later to the sounds of violent coughing that echoed through the Big House. Looking at the clock, I realized it hadn’t been that long since I fell asleep. I sat up and buried my face in my hands, trying to block the sounds of painful coughing out of my mind.

The coughing soon died down, leaving silence in its wake. There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t help feeling that something was strangely wrong. Unable to stop myself, I stood up and slowly walked down the stairs. My footsteps seemed strangely loud in the quiet house. Finally I was at the infirmary. I opened to door and what I saw made my heart clench with concern.

Percy was on his side, clutching his stomach in plain agony and breathing heavily. His face was flushed, and I realized with a shock that he now had a fever. I quickly made my way to him and softly brushed his hair out of his face. It was sweaty and damp, but I paid no heed to that as I placed an almost unnoticeable kiss to his forehead.

Making a split-second decision I knew I wouldn’t be able to turn back on, I pulled Percy into my arms, sitting on the edge of the bed, and started singing an Italian lullaby my mother had sung to me so long ago. I rocked the teen back and forth slowly in my arms and carded one hand through his hair.

Percy relaxed in my grip soon after, and I felt his pained whimpers and gasps become quieter. I quickly realized that Percy had fallen asleep, and the look of agony on his face became softer. I smiled softly at that. ‘ _Maybe I do have a chance.’_

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**Percy’s POV**

Hours later I woke up in a warm embrace. Pain still wracked my body, even more intense than before, but it seemed slightly dulled by the comfortable warmth that surrounded me. When I saw that peacefully sleeping face and the black hair, though, that sense of comfort disappeared and I backed away, falling off of the bed and landing with a hollow ‘thump’.

That movement and sound seemed to wake Nico up. His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light of the infirmary, and focused on me. “Percy?” he asked, confusion written on his face.

“ _What were you doing?”_ I hissed, glaring at him despite my renewed agony. My glare, however, faltered when another coughing fit wracked my body and pain flared in my stomach. I coughed into my hand again, but a couple of drops of blood spattered my pants as well.

Nico gasped. “Percy! Are you okay?” The son of Hades’ form started to look blurry, and my vision was slowly fading.

“Peachy,” I bit out sarcastically, clutching my stomach again.

Nico helped me onto the bed then backed off. “Is there _anything_ I can do to help you?” The teen’s voice was full of helplessness.

I laughed, ignoring the flaring pain in my abdomen. “No, there isn’t. And if there was I wouldn’t want you to help me because you’re just a pawn of the gods.”

Anger and hurt flashed in Nico’s eyes. “And _you’re_ just a pawn of the Titans. Don’t think that you’re any better than me or any of the other campers, because you’re not. You’re being used just the same.”

“I never said I was better than you,” I said. “I only said I don’t want the help of a pawn of the gods. I’m well aware that I’m a pawn in this war. At least I chose to be a pawn instead of just feeling obligated to help my parents. If they could even be called that.”

“And _I_ chose to help as well,” Nico countered. “I would’ve taken off from this war if I wanted to, but I knew that I wanted to help. Not my parents but my friends. Just like you chose to do. Up until you abandoned us and chose to fight for the wrong side.”

“You have _no idea_ why I chose to join Kronos. That was my decision, and I stand by that. And I never betrayed you. I never betrayed any of you. I did it for you!” I practically yelled except for the coughs that continued to wrack my body. “Kronos made me choose. Fight with him or all of you die _right in front of me_! That was my choice and that was my contribution to this war. Don’t mistake that for betrayal!”

Nico looked stunned by my outburst. I cursed under my breath. I let it slip. “Get out!” I snapped, looking away from the teen.

“No.” I looked up to see Nico sit on the side of my bed. “I won’t leave because at the very least you need someone here to help with the pain.”

I finally remembered that I was in pain. I groaned, pain burning through me like acid. “So you did it for us?” Nico whispered.

I only nodded, laying back and closing my eyes, but not falling asleep. “I had to. If we wanted to win this war, I had to join the Titans. It was the only way. Without the demigods, there’s no way for us to win this war, gods on our side or not.”

I felt the son of Hades’ hand carding through my hair and stiffened, but quickly relaxed and let him. I found that it make the pain go away somewhat. I remembered the poison Kronos had used and dread coursed through me.

The one thing I hadn’t told Nico about it was that I would be in pain for the rest of my life because of it. Not as much as I was in now, but it was still pain. I let Nico lull me into sleep again, drifting off into the darkness.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**And that’s chapter seven. I think I asked for a certain amount of reviews, ‘cause I do that on some of my stories, but I’m not sure. Whatever, I’m gonna update anyways.**

**Follow, favorite, review, and PM me! Until next time . . .**

**~O’Malley**


	8. Chapter Eight

**I know that you guys have been counting on me to update. I'm super, super, super sorry for not updating.  I apologize for not updating sooner, and I hope that I can make up for it in this chapter. I'll try to make it longer than usual.**

**Oh, and by the way, this story will be in Percy's point of view unless I say otherwise from now on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

_-Three Weeks Later, the Beach-_

I looked out on the ocean with my knees pulled to my chest and my arms wrapped around my legs. Waves lapped calmly on the sand, and the sun shined on the glittering water from the clear blue sky.

I brought a hand up and gently touched my scar, wincing at the feel of the ridged skin. I moved my hand back down around my legs and scowled against the breeze that gently brushed my long hair. Someone sat in the sand beside me.

"Hello, Poseidon," I said, keeping all emotion from my voice. "Is there something you need from me?"

The god stayed silent for a minute, as if taken aback by what I said, then spoke. "You're still my son, you know."

I snorted. "I may be your son, but you're not my father," I told him with a hint of mocking in my tone. "In fact, I'm not sure I could even be considered your son anymore."

I could see Poseidon look at me with hurt and shock from the corner of my eye. I sighed. "I betrayed the gods and joined the Titans, became the fucking general of Kronos' army, and almost slaughtered the whole camp, and you somehow still consider me your son?" I scoffed. "I find that rather hard to believe."

Poseidon was strangely quiet beside me, but I said nothing more, reveling in the quiet while it was still there. "You should believe it, because it's true. You mean more to me than I think you realize, Percy."

"And yet you gave up hope before there was actual confirmation of my death? Even after _all_ of those rumours of Kronos' new general, a son of the Big Three, you didn't even consider that I was alive." The god flinched beside me.

"I didn't want to believe that you would betray us," he said sadly.

"Yeah, well I did," I snapped, words dripping venom. "I did everything Kronos told me to out of loyalty. It wasn't for the gods." It wasn't technically a lie. I hadn't done anything I had for the gods, but for my friends.

Poseidon seemed to be contemplating something. "And why are you helping us now?"

I smiled bitterly. "It's still not for the gods. They mean nothing to me." Thunder rolled in the clear skies. "I'm only doing it for myself. No one else."

The god beside me seemed stunned by my words. I suppose it made sense for him to be surprised. His once selfless and endlessly loyal son had become selfish and without any loyalties but to himself. Or so the god thought, anyway.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the sea god murmured. I didn't question his statement.

After a moment, I stood, dusting sand off of my jeans. "As you can see, I'm no longer the son who 'died' a year ago. I'm a mercenary now, not a hero." He grabbed my wrist as if to stop me, but I jerked my hand out of his grip, flinching away. "Don't touch me," I growled, then stalked up the sand dunes and back to camp.

I heard the god following after me and stopped. "What the fuck do you want now, Poseidon?!" I asked, anger boiling beneath my skin.

A small hitching of the god's breath gave me satisfaction. "I just . . . want you to know that I'm here for you, whether you believe it or not. You're still my son in my eyes, despite what you may think." A breeze of ocean air, and I knew he was gone.

I took a deep, calming breath, letting my frustration sink to the back of my mind before continuing on my way to the dining pavilion.

I found Annabeth sitting at the Poseidon table when I arrived, looking like a lost puppy. I sighed quietly and cursed under my breath, frustration rising again at the sight of the blonde. She just wouldn't give up.

I grabbed my food from one of the nymphs, who seemed rather nervous about being near me, I headed to the Hades table where Nico was instead of to my own table. The son of Hades gave a confused look, but let it go and continued eating his meal.

I took a seat across from the younger teen and picked at my food. After the talk with Poseidon, I lost my appetite.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Nico asked, pointing at my untouched food. I just shrugged.

"I'm not really hungry," I muttered. Suddenly I could feel an intense gaze on the back of my head. I didn't have to turn around to see who it was.

"Percy!" Annabeth called, jogging over to the table. I sighed and buried my face in my hands, annoyance and frustration eating at me. The spawn of Athena sat down next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked in a sickly-sweet. "You look pale. Are you sure you've recovered?" I held back an annoyed growl. One glance at Nico told me he was highly amused by my predicament.

I pushed my plate away from me and stood. If I stayed any longer, I would lose my temper, and that was _never_ a good thing. I strode out of the dining pavilion toward Cabin Three as quickly as I could without running, making Annabeth chase after me.

"Percy!" she called again. I growled as I reached the cabin, slamming the door harshly behind me and locking it. She began to knock incessantly on my door and talk just as incessantly through the door.

"Oh, for fucks sake! Go the fuck away!" I shouted, unable to restrain myself any longer. The noise stopped immediately.

It was silent for a few minutes, and then Nico spoke from the other side. "She wasn't _that_ bad, was she?"

I groaned in irritation, and opened the door for him, allowing the younger entry. He stepped in with an amused expression. "She _was_ that bad," I hissed. "She just wouldn't stop knocking and calling out and it was so _annoying._ First Poseidon, and then Anna-bitch. I've had enough for a lifetime."

Nico raised a curious brow. "Poseidon came to talk to you?"

I hummed an affirmative. "Somehow, after everything I've done, he claims to still hold me dear and think of me as a son. I still find it rather hard to believe, but," I shrugged, "even if it's true, I no longer think of him as my father."

Nico was silent for a moment, watching me with calculating brown eyes as he took a seat on my bed, sitting cross-legged. "Why not?"

I didn't answer, sitting next to the raven. "Percy . . ." Nico said, sighing. "You have to start trusting others, or there'll be nothing but trouble later on."

I clenched my jaw. "The last time I trusted someone I cared about other than you, they ended up betraying me. I wouldn't be able to handle it if someone else broke my trust."

Nico took my hand and laced our fingers together. "Luke didn't betray you, Perce," he whispered. "He did it _for_ you. You know that. It was Kronos who did all of those horrible things to you. And it was Kronos who broke you. I'm sure that, if it had been up to Luke, he wouldn't have even considered harming you."

I let out a small breath and laid my head on Nico's shoulder, closing my eyes against the headache building behind them. "I know," I breathed. "It's just . . . even if it _was_ Kronos is complete control, I still saw Luke's face flashing me cruel smiles, Luke's mouth spewing insults at me, and Luke's hands harming me. And even if I look past that, despite _knowing_ that he had no control over his actions, I feel like he could've done something to stop Kronos from torturing me."

A gentle hand stroked through my hair. Nico was quiet, thinking. "I won't betray you, Perce. I hold no love for Kronos, nor any motivation to help him. And I don't see anyone but you."

I smiled lightly at that. "Not even Will Solace?" I teased, still not opening my eyes.

Nico laughed. "Not even him. No matter how much he hits on me, I'm not going out with him. He's not even my type."

My eyes opened, and I raised a brow. "Then what _is_ your type?"

Nico gave me a shit-eating grin. "Blonde bimbos with curly princess hair and bright grey eyes, of course."

I growled playfully. "Keep talking like that, and I'll have to beat some sense into you." Nico only laughed.

"Nah, my type is actually sexy ravens with gorgeous green eyes and a perfect swimmer's body. What else could it be?" He asked, tilting my head up and pressing a kiss to my lips.

I grinned. "I don't know, that blonde bimbo sounds pretty tempting. I might just go snatch her up myself." Nico growled against my lips.

"I won't let you leave this room long enough to do that," he whispered, then brought me into another, deeper, kiss.

I leaned into the teen's lips, allowing him entrance. Before it could go any further, however, there was a knock at my door. I glared darkly at the wood, as if that would make it burst into flames. "Damnit," I cursed, then stood and made my way to the cabin door.

Surprisingly, it was Chiron. There was a grim set to his mouth, and a tiredness in his face. He gave me a sad, almost regretful, look, before speaking. "I'm sorry to inform you that your mother, step-father, and sister have been killed by Kronos' servants. I am truly sorry."

I stared at the centaur in stunned silence, his words not yet taking root in me. "O-okay," I stuttered unsurely, stumbling back into the cabin and closing the door weakly. I stared at the wood, still trying to process Chiron's words.

"Percy . . .?" Nico asked worriedly, putting a hand on my shoulder and turning me to face him. At the blank, stunned expression on my face, he seemed to worry even more. "Percy? What's wrong? What did Chiron say to you?!"

Tears filled my eyes, but went unshed. "M-Mom, and Paul, a-and my sister, they've been killed . . . by Kronos," I whispered, so low that Nico strained to hear my words. "They're dead." My voice broke on the last word, and I fell to my knees, Nico following me down and pulling me into his comforting arms.

I only sat there in shock, tears burning my eyes but not falling as I stared at the fountain across the room from me, glowing eerily.

The next few hours went by hazily, and I can't quite recall what happened, but I did remember seeing Nico's worried face in front of mine, gently wiping tears that fell without permission from my cheeks. I remembered nothing else.

I woke up the next morning numbly, the nightmare still playing in front of my eyes. I didn't want to get out of bed and leave Nico's warm arms, but I knew I would have to at some point, so I slowly got up, maneuvering so I wouldn't wake the son of Hades.

I got ready for the day with sluggish movements, exhaustion pulling at my limbs from the night of restless sleeping. I heard the horn blow, signaling the beginning of breakfast, and considered waking my boyfriend up, but decided against it and moved to my cabin door, stepping out into the strangely cloudy outdoors.

I glanced up at the sky and saw dark clouds rumbling, and noticed that the ocean was raging against the shore. So they had heard about my mother's death, then. Instead of heading for the dining pavilion as I'd planned, I made my way to the beach, any kind of appetite I may have had gone at the thought of my mother.

I took a seat in a similar fashion as the day before and took in my surroundings. It reminded me of the last time I went to Montauk with my mom. It'd been years since then, and suddenly I regretted not going again.

No more tears rose at the thought of my lost family, though. I was too numb to my feelings. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, but I ignored it. I already knew who it was, anyway. Annabeth sat on the sand beside me, but I didn't acknowledge her.

"Hey, Percy," she said, glancing at my profile. I still didn't give her any sign that I was paying attention. "I'm . . . I'm really sorry. You shouldn't have to go through that." Despite how clingy the Athena girl had been the past few weeks, I knew she was being sincere. That didn't stop a worm of irritation from appearing, though.

I shrugged. "It's probably better this way. Less people for Kronos to hold over me. And less pain for them in the upcoming war." The Athena spawn seemed shocked at my statement.

"Even so," she started weakly, "you still have the whole camp here. He could still use us against you."

I chuckled with humour I didn't feel. "That's not the case anymore. Now there's only a small number of people left that I truly care for. This camp isn't included. He could torture and kill just about all of you, and I wouldn't give a second glance."

Annabeth stared at me in horror and hurt. "Am . . . Am I at least one of those people you care about?" she asked unsurely.

I sighed, exasperated. "No, you're not. You've given me no reason to care since I've gotten here. All you've done is pine after me constantly and annoyingly, despite knowing that I'm gay. Now, would you leave me alone?"

The blonde got up silently and sulked her way back up the hill, though when I tossed her a small glance, I saw that annoying determination lighting her eyes. I looked back out to the raging sea and sky, reveling in how the cool wind brushed against my skin.

I closed my eyes against it and let myself be lulled into a light sleep. I dreamt of the day Nico confessed to me, after I'd let him in and been honest with him. It had only been a week and a half since I returned to camp, but I knew that he was the only one who could make me feel safe. Not even Luke held that privilege anymore. Spending three weeks with the son of Hades only solidified my hunch.

Slowly, I fell into a much deeper, dreamless sleep. It was probably the best sleep I'd gotten since Kronos captured me. I woke up slowly, burying my face in the lap that was pillowing my head. "Nico?" I asked groggily, opening my eyes slowly and looking up into his face.

He grinned at me. "It seems like you got a good rest," he said, and I knew he was relieved. I'd told him how bad my dreams got and how little sleep I managed over the last year, and he was always worrying about it.

"Mmh, yeah," I muttered, burying my face in his lap again. "That's probably because you showed up, though." I could almost _see_ his ego inflating.

I didn't get the smartass response I was expecting. "I'm glad," Nico said softly, running a hand through my hair. "You were tossing and turning all night. I was worried."

I stayed silent, not really in the mood for talking, or anything, really. Nico continued to card his hand through my hair, humming an Italian lullaby softly. I turned over onto my back and stared at the sky, watching as water slowly started to fall from the dark clouds, but quickly picked up speed. Soon it was pouring buckets. Luckily for Nico, I kept him from getting soaked through.

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, sitting on the beach and enjoying each other's company, but I soaked in every second of it. I knew that later on, we wouldn't have opportunities like this.

My thoughts drifted to my mother, and how warm her smile was, how delicious her blue chocolate chip cookies were, how beautiful her eyes were, glittering in the moonlight. I realized how deeply I missed these things already.

Still, no tears formed. I refused to let myself feel that grief, pushing it deep down underneath everything else that was going on. I barely registered the pain of losing my family at all. My content mood still disappeared, all the same, and Nico took notice of the sudden somberness on my face.

"Percy," he began, "you should let yourself feel. Holding your feelings back will only make them explode in your face later." Nico's voice was gentle, understanding. "I know that better than anyone. I didn't let myself grieve Bianca's death until after you 'died'. Because you 'died'. I was a mess for days. I don't want you to end up like that, too."

I searched his face for a moment, looking for any signs of him being insincere, though I knew I wouldn't find any.

I sighed tiredly. "I don't know how," I murmured. "I only know how to hide and bury my feelings. After all, that's all I did during the year I was in Kronos' care." There was sarcasm dripping from my words at the last part.

The son of Hades leaned down and kissed me gently. "I hate seeing you so emotionless," he breathed against my lips. "Just let it out. Let yourself feel again. If not for your own sake, then for mine."

My eyes widened. It wasn't cliché, like all of my feelings crashing into me like a wave. It was slow, a trickle of rain falling from the sky. One tear slipped down my face. "I'll try," I whispered, kissing just as gently back. Nico moved away and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.

My arms were loose around him as I buried my face in his neck. Slowly, ever so slowly, my tears built, and fell just as slowly. My arms tightened and I clutched the back of his shirt. My shoulders shook silently, and slow waves of grief lapped at me. I suddenly couldn't hold the emotions back anymore. The lapping waves gave way to huge crashing ones quickly, and almost silent sobs escaped me.

Nico stayed silent, holding me tightly in his arms. A soft, comforting kiss pressed against my cheek. I began to sob loudly, letting all of the feelings I'd held back over the years escape in the form of tears.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**So I know it's been a year, so I wrote a really long and fluffy chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you thought in the comments ^_^**

**Favorite, follow, review, and PM me with ideas! Until next time . . .**

**~O'Malley out!**


	9. Chapter Nine

**So, here’s another chapter! Prepare for angst. I think. I’m going into this not completely sure so. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**I promise you guys I would have had this chapter up a week ago if I could have, but I was in the hospital due to things happening. I’m putting it up now, though, so please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Percy Jackson.**

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

_“You will submit to me, Perseus Jackson,” Kronos hissed in my ear, cruelty flashing in his golden eyes. “You will be my soldier to use as I wish. You will be_ mine _.” I squeezed my eyes shut tightly against the tears that burned at them. I knew he was right, deep down. I couldn’t keep fighting against Kronos. The pain would become too much, and I would submit._

_Another wave of agony ripped through me as if on cue. A scream tore through my already raw throat. The tears that I had been working so hard to keep at bay fell, and I could barely hear the harsh laughter of the Titan through the pain._

_As the wave of pain lessened and concentrated in my back, my screams subsided. I began to sob, uncaring of the satisfaction Kronos surely got from it._

_“I submit,” I whispered hoarsely. “I give up.” Another sob broke through. “Just make it stop. Make the pain stop.”_

_There was a moment of silence. “Very well,” Kronos said, voice victorious._

_“On one condition,” I continued, despite the position I was in. “You have to let my friends live. Please. I’ll do anything you want if you let them live.” My voice broke several times, but I managed to get through the sentence successfully. “Please,” I choked._

_A cold laugh, and then, “Fine, little hero,” he cooed, stroking my hair in a deceptively gentle way. “I’ll make your pain go away and let your friends live, so long as you do what I tell you. Every time you disobey an order, I will take the life of one of your precious heroes.” His hand on my hair went from gentle to harsh in a single moment. “Don’t fail me.” The world went black around me._

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

_I waited, kneeling in front of my master, for the words that were sure to come. My hands were clammy and shaking. I had failed to kill a captive demigod, and now I would have to pay the price. I wondered, in the part of my mind that wasn’t panicking, which one of my friends he would kill._

_“Perseus,” the King of the Titans began, his voice eerily calm, “I told you that for every mistake you make, that I will take the life of one of your friends. And so I will.”_

_I took a shaky breath, my emotionless mask cracking for a moment. “Which one, my lord?” I asked, voice still cool despite my raging emotions._

_A cold laugh echoed through the marble throne room. “Why don’t I just show you?” I looked up in time to see two demigods dragging a struggling, black pegasus into the room._

‘Boss!’ _Blackjack exclaimed._ ‘You’re alive?!’

_I quickly bowed my head again, refusing to respond to the confused exclamations of the pegasus._

_“You will watch,” Kronos ordered, “unless you want another one of your friends to be killed.” Slowly, I raised my head and looked at Blackjack. Kronos himself took up his scythe and approached the black pegasus, who was beginning to grow hysterical._

_I looked into his eyes, trying to convey how sorry I was that this was happening. It was all my fault. I forced my face to be blank as Kronos raised the scythe above his head, and brought it down in a deadly arc. It was as though everything was moving in slow motion. If it had been two months ago, I would have lunged forward and tried to save the pegasus, but it was different now. The fear of the consequences was ingrained into my mind._

_I watched as Blackjack’s head was sliced off, as it fell to the ground, as the body slumped to the side and blood seeped from it. A single tear fell from my eye._

_I made the decision that from then on, I would cut all attachments. I wouldn’t let them make me feel. Feeling hurt too much._

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

I returned to consciousness quickly. Without opening my eyes, I moved closer to Nico, hugging him closer to me. He groaned in his sleep and shifted slightly, tightening his arms around me. A small smile formed on my lips at the action.

I pushed the surfaced memories away from me. I didn’t want to think about those times. All that brought was pain and misery and reminders of all of the mistakes I had made. After the day Blackjack died, I never again refused an order, and I distanced myself from the Old Percy. I had to be cold and ruthless.

Now that I was back at camp and forging new bonds, I didn’t know who I was. Was I Old Percy, the loyal son of Poseidon who would do anything for his loved ones? Or New Percy, a cruel soldier who carried out orders no matter how gruesome or heartless? Or was I something completely new? I had no idea, and I wasn’t sure I ever would. Not while there was a war going on.

And when it came down to it, I wasn’t sure which side I would end up on at the close. I would have to choose between the gods and the Titans. Camp Half-Blood and Kronos. Nico and Luke. I was terrified of making that choice because I knew that I still had feelings for Luke, and I knew that he would always hold a place in my heart.

I buried my face in the crook of Nico’s neck to chase that thought process away. I needed to be in the now. I couldn’t bear to think about the future or the past, or I was sure to break into a thousand pieces without hope of being put back together.

“Percy . . .?” Nico groaned, shaken awake by my sudden movement. “Are you alright?” I hummed noncommittally in response. I didn’t know myself.

“Nightmares?” he asked, and I only nodded against him. He ran a hand through my hair gently, and I practically purred in response.

“Do any of you know what happened to Blackjack?” I murmured, forcing my voice not to shake.

I could feel Nico’s jaw clench. “His head showed up at the head table about ten months ago. We don’t know exactly why he was killed, but it’s obvious who did it.”

A choked sound escaped me. “It-it’s my fault he died,” I whispered lowly. It was even more painful to admit out loud than it was to say in my head. “The deal we made-Kronos said he would kill one friend for each mistake that I made. I failed to complete an order, so in return, Blackjack was murdered right in front of me.”

A tear fell to Nico’s pale skin, and Nico shushed me softly. “No, don’t even think that. Blackjack would hate for you to be thinking things like that. I know that it seems like it was your fault, but you aren’t the one who swung the blade. Don’t you dare use the my-actions-caused-him-to-die argument, because I won’t accept it. If you ever believe anything I say to you, believe this.”

I didn’t say anything for a while, lost in thought. Finally, I said, “Okay.” I moved up the son of Hades’ body and pressed my lips to his. He quickly deepened it, plundering my mouth for all he was worth. I moaned softly in the back of my throat.

Nico’s hand slid up my shirt an inch just as the conch horn blew, signaling breakfast time. I growled in annoyance. “Fucking cock block,” I muttered, pressing a chaste kiss to Nico’s lips before getting off of him and moving toward my dresser. The younger teen groaned dramatically.

“But it was just getting good,” he whined playfully. I rolled my eyes, grabbing fresh clothes and moving toward my bathroom.

“Stop fucking whining and join me in the shower,” I told my boyfriend, throwing a towel at him. “Don’t you dare touch my ass, though.”

And with that I moved into the bathroom, smirking as I heard Nico scrambling out of bed.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**Okay, so it was a bit of filler, but it’s something for you guys to read. I’ll try to keep this flow going and update soon, but I make absolutely no promises about that.**

**Favorite, follow, review, and PM me with requests :D Until next time . . .**

**~O’Malley out!**


	10. Chapter Ten

**Okay! Sudden striking inspiration! I know the last chapter was more filler than anything but I plan on putting some real thought into this one. So, please enjoy. And I’m sorry for making you guys wait so fucking long for this chapter. I hope this one lives up to your expectations.**

**Another note, also, I’m beta-ing dragonrider0295’s Hetalia fanfiction ‘Left Unsaid’, and I recommend it to any anime/Hetalia fans who are reading this. It’s pretty awesome and I think you guys would enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians is Rick Riordan’s, not mine, unfortunately. Otherwise I wouldn’t be poor and depressed lol**

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

Nico and I strolled to the pavilion hand in hand, taking as long as we could plausibly take without any questions being asked before we had to separate to different tables. When we were about one hundred feet away from the dining area, and we could smell the fresh food, a heavy silence fell on the pavilion, replacing the buzz of chatter, and then screams erupted.

Nico met my eyes with the same bewildered and scared expression I had, and then we both sprinted the rest of the way to the pavilion, both of us going as fast as we’d ever gone. I refused to let go of my grip on the other teen’s hand. Fear clutched my heart as an idea formed in my mind, a horrible, unimaginable idea. There was no way it was true. He _wouldn’t_ have.

We arrived at the dining pavilion within seconds, but couldn’t see what was going on due to the crowd of horrified campers and nature spirits that had formed around the head table. My hand slipped out of Nico’s, and I shoved my way to the front of the throng. I could faintly sense Nico following behind me.

People barely noticed my presence, instead staring, horrified, at whatever was being displayed ahead. I caught small glimpses of what they were looking at, but couldn’t make out exactly what it was.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of pushing past people, I reached the Head Table. I froze in place, breath catching in my throat. Annabeth lay dead across the table, her body covered in wounds and blood, and only a cloth that someone (most likely Chiron) had placed over her after she appeared. Her grey eyes were still open, staring wide into nothing.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the beaten and bloodied body of the daughter of Athena. Even though she had irritated me to all hell, she didn’t deserve such a terrible end. It wasn’t long before people began to notice me standing at the front of the crowd. The shouts of the campers and nymphs changed from horrified to angry, accusing. They thought I had done it.

Hands grabbed and groped at me, trying to pull me back into them so they could run me through. I didn’t resist. After all, it was my fault. This was a message from Kronos. If I continued to get close to any of the campers, he would keep picking off, one at a time, the people I actually gave a shit about.

“Percy!” Nico shouted, trying to get to me through all of the other people. His voice jolted me back to reality and out of my self-hating thoughts. _‘Don’t you dare use the my-actions-caused-him-to-die argument, because I won’t accept it. If you ever believe anything I say to you, believe this.’_ Nico’s words echoed in my head.

I struggled away from the accusing hands, but it seemed to be futile. They wouldn’t stop. Nails dug into my skin as the hands on me tightened. It wasn’t long before I was swallowed whole by the throng of angry campers. Panic swelled through me and up my throat. I let out a hoarse scream and a strong, howling wind blew out from me, shoving all but Nico away, landing fifty feet from where they had been in a pile.

Nico rushed towards me while everyone else was groaning and complaining about other peoples’ body parts being in places they probably shouldn’t be. Arms wrapped around me and helped me to stand, but didn’t loosen. On the contrary, I was pulled into a tight hug by the son of Hades.

“Thank fuck you’re okay,” the teen breathed. “I was so worried when they pulled you in.” His breath ghosted against my skin. I buried my face in his neck, letting out a shaky breath.

“So was I,” I whispered.

Around me I could hear the campers yelling and shouting, rushing towards us, and I knew it wasn’t over yet. Panic clutched at my heart with a tight grip. I couldn’t breathe, or move, or do anything except watch as the large crowd of people closed in to tear me to pieces for what they thought was my fault. They were only moments away, and all I could think was that I hated Nico being in the middle of all of it, too.

Time slowed down. Weapons were stretched towards us, inches away. As the first sword-tip scratched my shoulder, a loud, commanding voice rang out. “ **Stop!** ” Chiron boomed. “ **No one will lay a hand on either boy!** ” Everyone froze in place.

I watched, wide-eyed, as everyone backed up several paces a moment later, rage and shame contrasting starkly on their faces, rage aimed at me and shame at what they had been about to do.

Shouts erupted again, though no footsteps approached, and I flinched unconsciously from the roar.

“He killed Annabeth!”

“The traitor tortured her!”

“He’s a monster!”

With each new comment, I retreated further and further into Nico’s arms. The feelings that I had kept bottled up inside of me except in the presence of Nico alone were bubbling up to the surface and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep them at bay.

I had a white-knuckled grip on the over-sized aviator’s jacket Nico always wore. A soothing hand ran through my hair, and then cries against the son of Hades began to fly through the air as well.

“Silence, you insolent brats!” Dionysus bellowed deafeningly. Most everyone, excepting Chiron and the satyrs, stared in shock at the god, who we thought wouldn’t give a flying fuck about what was going on. “Instead of arguing pointlessly and interrupting my dinner, why don’t you take this elsewhere, preferably more quietly?!” It was clear the god was incredibly irritated with all of the yelling.

At the end of the statement, all eyes turned back to Chiron, looking for his leadership. For a small, almost unnoticeable, moment, the centaur seemed at a loss, but quickly recovered his wits and spoke, “We are going to have a meeting of camp counsellors. The rest of you, return to your normal activities. I know that there has been a traumatic event, ( _That’s an understatement_ , I thought bitterly) and I will allow whoever wishes to return to their cabins to do so, but we must do our best to keep moving. Dionysus will take care of the dinner.” The god looked disgruntled at this but didn’t argue.

I glanced around the crowd at this, and saw that many were in tears, clutching on to their friends or siblings in their grief, and Chiron had a similar look of pain hidden away in his eyes. I gulped, knowing that this was indirectly my fault and I would have to pay for it.

Silently and slowly, people trickled out of the dining pavilion and to either their cabins or to their activities, the latter group doing so half-heartedly. Nico and I headed slowly to the Big House together, being both cabin counsellors and major players in what just happened. Or, at least, I was a major player who dragged Nico into the middle of this stinking pile of pegasus shit.

If my tight grip on the son of Hades’ hand hurt, the teen didn’t say so, allowing me to hold onto him for support. I was almost too shaken up to put up my mask of indifference, though I could muster a weak, cracked version of it. Most people in the room most likely wouldn’t be able to see through it, but Chiron most certainly would.

The long trek across the camp finally ended as we arrived at the recreation room in the Big House, where almost everyone was gathered. Clarisse, the last person to show up, sat down, clearly shaken but making a good effort to hide it, and the meeting began.

“Now,” Chiron began, voice cracking slightly, “Percy, do you know anything about what happened to Annabeth?” I flinched in the corner of the room, tightening my hold on Nico.

“No,” I whispered, voice hoarse. Clearing my throat, I began again in a voice they could still barely hear. “No, I don’t. At least, I don’t know who did it or exactly when, but I know why.” I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut. The anger in the air was practically palpable. I tried to continue, but only managed to make a choked sound.

It was all becoming too much. Sure, I’d seen and caused a lot of carnage and torture and death, but it was so much different when it happens to the people you were trying to protect from that. It started with Annabeth, but who would Kronos pick next? Would it be Grover, the lovable and awkward satyr? Or the Stolls, mischievous and playful? Or would it be Nico, the only thing keeping me from falling apart?

It was becoming harder and harder to breathe. My air was being cut off, and a memory abruptly came to the forefront of my mind. I fought away from it, but it inevitably pulled me into its darkness.

_Hands that had once been so gentle and warm wrapped harshly around my throat, cutting my air off and making dark spots dance in front of my eyes. Gold irises met my sea green ones, filled with only malice and anger and satisfaction at how broken I had become._

_My head was getting light, and darkness swam in my vision, getting thicker and thicker. And then, suddenly, those cruel hands were gone, along with the golden eyes that mocked me from above. Replaced with those were soft touches and bright blue eyes that looked down at me with agony and sadness._

_“I’m so sorry, Perce,” Luke choked out, gentle running his fingers over the already dark purple bruises at my throat. His voice was choked with restrained pain. I could see that the man was barely holding the powerful entity back. He bent down laboriously and pressed a soft kiss to my swollen and bruised lips. “I love you, please don’t forget that. Whatever this monster does to you, don’t forget that I will always love you and do my best to protect you.”_

_And then the harsh hands returned just as suddenly, cutting my air off so unexpectedly that I cried out. Tears slipped from my eyes. Not only had Blackjack been punished for my failure, but I had to endure this agony along with it._

I coughed and hacked on my hands and knees, tears dripping onto the smooth wooden floors of the room. A stunned and slightly horrified silence had descended upon the inhabitants.

“Percy…?” Nico whispered unsurely, an arm around me to keep me from falling to the floor. I knew that this panic attack hadn’t been as bad as the last one, but darkness still pulled at the corners of my eyes and beckoned them closed.

“I’m okay,” I rasped unconvincingly. “I just need a minute.” Hands much surer than the owner of them helped me to sit against the wall, not leaving my shoulders even when I was settled. I rested my head against my knees, drawing deep breaths in to try and stabilize myself.

It took several minutes, in which the counsellors whispered quietly to each other, for me to calm down and find the courage to look up at my old comrades. “It was my fault,” I told them quietly, self-hatred lacing each syllable like poison on a knife. “I disobeyed and joined this side, made connections, so Kr-he decided to punish me by taking the life of one of my friends.”

A disbelieving silence settled thick like a blanket, suffocating me.

“You really fucking expect us to believe that bullshit, Prissy?! Huh?!” Clarisse snapped brutally. “You think you can spew those lies and get away with it? One of our friends just died, and you’re making it look like you’re the one suffering! You may have hated Annabeth, but everyone else cared about her! I bet you were the one who happily raped and tortured her, at the command of your puppet-master! You fucking piece of-“

“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted, rising to my feet with a wave of adrenaline. “You think you know everything, don’t you?!” I knew my eyes had hardened into ice, and the temperature in the room dropped to match them. “Yeah, well, you don’t! You don’t know the fucking torture and pain and agony I went through trying to fight against that piece of shit that possessed Luke!! You don’t know the horrible things I had to do so that you motherfuckers could live at the end of this war when he won! I gave everything up, my innocence, and my free will, and my _fucking life so that you wouldn’t die at the end of all of this! So why don’t you take your know-it-all attitude and fuck yourself!_ ”

Stunned silence followed my echoing words, and tears streamed unheedingly down my face. I swiped harshly at them, trying to stem the flow and failing miserably. I turned into Nico’s chest and let him hold me as I sobbed loudly. I couldn’t hold the flow of feelings back any longer. I’d been bottling all of it up for far too long to stop the dam from flowing over.

I’m sure I cracked one of the teen’s ribs with the force of my embrace, but he didn’t seem to care, comforting me as best as he could while I wept hysterically into his shirt.

“Shhh, it’s okay, Perce, you’re okay,” Nico whispered, pressing a kiss to my temple. “You’re going to be okay. Calm down, love. I’m here.” He continued whispering sweet nothings while the rest of the people in the room absorbed my adrenaline fueled words.

When finally, several minutes later, I calmed down, and everyone else recovered, I turned towards them with a cold glare, letting Nico hold me from behind. “Next time you want to talk to me, you know where to find me.” With that, I took one of my lover’s hands and dragged him with me to the Poseidon cabin.

**-PJO—PJO—PJO-**

**Goddammit I’m good. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It’ll be awhile before I update, but this might tide you guys over until I get up the will to keep going. And seriously, please check out dragonrider’s story. It’s awesome and needs some reviews.**

**Favorite, follow, review, and PM me with requests or anything else. Until next time . . .**

**~O’Malley out!**


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